1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a liquid crystal module. More specifically, the present invention relates to a liquid crystal module having a bezel.
2. Background Information
A conventional liquid crystal module includes a rear frame, a panel support, a liquid crystal panel, a relay board and a bezel. A double side plate is formed by bending a side plate of the rear frame in an inverted U-shape. The panel support is attached to cover a top plate and an outer plate of the double side plate. Edges of the liquid crystal panel are placed on the panel support. The relay board is connected to the liquid crystal panel via a COF (chip-on-film). The relay board is attached to an outer face of the panel support. The bezel holds down the edges of the liquid crystal panel. The panel support and the bezel are fixed by screws. The screws are passed from attachment components of a bezel upper plate of the bezel, through bosses of the panel support, and into the bezel fixing components of the top plate of the double side plate. With the structure, a safe spatial distance is maintained between the bezel side plate and the relay board.
Meanwhile, there is a conventional flat-screen display device in which a control circuit board and an array board of a display panel are connected via a TCP having a flexible wiring board and a drive IC mounted on the flexible wiring board. The flexibility of the TCP allows TCP to be bent and the control circuit board disposed on a non-light emitting side of a light-guide plate. A part of the TCP or a part of the control circuit board is housed in an open area having an acute angle, and supported by a frame. With such arrangements, a liquid crystal display device is made thinner and the size of the frame is reduced (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-353416, for example).
Also, there is a conventional flat-screen display device with a narrower frame. In the display device, a bezel cover is fitted to a frame. Screw insertion holes in the bezel cover communicate with screw fastening holes. Shaft parts of fixing screws are inserted into the screw insertion holes and threaded into the screw fastening holes. The bezel cover and the frame are fixed inside a personal computer housing by a side mount method (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-241964, for example).
Further, there is also a conventional flat-screen display device having protrusions, which stick out from polarizing plates affixed to upper and lower faces of a liquid crystal cell. The protrusions are fixed by screws along with a metal bezel cover to edges of a backlight and a frame placement component. With such arrangements, the display cell is reliably fixed to the frame or the metal bezel cover even though measures are taken to reduce weight and narrow the frame.
However, as with the conventional liquid crystal module, when the outer plate of the double side plate of the rear frame is formed by bending the plate downward at a position more to the outside than the bezel screw fastening component of the top plate, then the top plate of the double side plate becomes wider, so the relay board ends being located quite far to the outside. If an adequate spatial distance is ensured between the bezel side plate and the relay board, a bezel having a wide bezel upper plate will have to be attached, which makes it difficult to obtain a narrower frame.
In contrast, with the flat-panel display devices of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 2000-353416, 2005-241964 and 2002-341318, a technique for obtaining a narrower frame in a flat-panel display device with a completely different structure from that of the conventional liquid crystal module discussed above is involved. Thus, the technique cannot be applied to obtaining a narrower frame in the conventional liquid crystal module discussed above.
There is also another conventional liquid crystal module in which the bezel side plate is screwed down without screwing down the bezel upper plate. However, a liquid crystal module such as this makes use of a large, thick bezel to compensate for inadequate strength, or a bezel that is integrated in the form of a square frame, so a drawback is higher manufacturing cost.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved liquid crystal module. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.